Living Today
Articles from Christian teachers and leaders. Designed to help you as you follow Jesus here in the Cook Islands
The Cross at Easter
The cross is an important symbol during Easter, reminding us of the incredible sacrifice Jesus made. Despite all of our struggles and pain, the cross reminds us we are not alone in this world. We can find strength and comfort knowing that Jesus has already saved us from our sins.
It’s this hope for redemption through Christ’s death on the cross that makes Easter such an integral part of Christian tradition. Stu Millar from Train to Proclaim recently shared on Vision Chrisitan Media his thoughts on how we can use the wonderful opportunities Easter creates to share our faith with others.
‘Without the cross, and the resurrection of Jesus, what do we have?’ says Stu. ‘I don’t even know whether the world would still be around today if it wasn’t for Jesus dying on the cross. As Christians, this is our holiest time of year because the heart of the gospel message is Jesus’s sacrificial death for us.’
Reconciled to God
Stu says that while we don’t worship the cross, we certainly have it on top of churches and in assemblies for a very good reason. It’s the centre of the Christian faith. Without the cross, there is no way for us to have a relationship with God. By paying that punishment on the cross, Jesus makes it possible for us to be reconciled.
‘The image of Jesus on the cross is remembering His humanity,’ says Stu. ‘It represents the sacrifice and the suffering He went through. His arms are open wide towards humanity. There are a lot of positives of capturing that point in time. But I like an empty cross because I know that He’s not still there.’
Stu says for a lot of Christians, their focus is more on the resurrection and the victory that Christ has won for us. He’s risen from the dead and He’s alive. But a real richness can also be found in understanding the suffering, because that point on the cross when Jesus took our sin was the game changer for humanity.
Jesus Was Born to Die
‘Jesus was born to die,’ says Stu. ‘He was born to suffer. He was born to pay that punishment in our place. And without it, none of humanity could be saved. It’s a glorious moment for us, but under terrible circumstances.’
‘Christmas and Easter are definitely easier times to share our faith,’ says Stu. ‘People seem to be of good cheer. There’s a holiday coming up. There’s Easter eggs. They may have the completely wrong idea about Easter, but they’ve still got a positive view to some degree.’
‘Deep down, every single one of us has a hole in us that can only be filled by God.’
Article by Melinda McCredie, Vision Christian Media
When All Seems Lost
Now what? That’s something that all of us have said to ourselves at one time or another. In his new message, ‘When All Seems Lost’, Pastor Jeff Vines covers the topics of marriage and keeping relationships strong. Jeff offers encouragement for those of us who are struggling with chaos and feeling lost. God does not give His law arbitrarily. When God tells us He wants us to live in certain parameters and by certain precepts, He does it because He loves us. If He’s the creator and sustainer of...
Compassion and Action
The crewmembers on board Logos Hope all left their homes at one point to come on board the ship to live and work together with others from around the world. They exchanged their familiar environments for a very unique accommodation – a ship – which sooner or later they also call their home for a specific amount of time. They all do know though, that there are many people in the world, who are longing for a place to stay in which they can experience peace and safety. The refugees who leave...
Dad’s Toolkit
It’s a fantastic opportunity to reflect on the value of family, and in particular the role of dads. What are your strengths as a parent? Are there some areas you could grow in? How do you begin your journey of becoming the parent God has called you to be? Brett and Kate Ryan from Focus on the Family, have created a ‘Dad’s Toolkit’ that’s full of ideas on how dad’s can improve themselves. It contains things like conversation starters with your kids, and questions we can ask our dads. Healthy...
Truth, Lies and Financial Freedom
Many Christians divide their lives into categories. Some things they want Jesus to be a part of, but not others. Because we compartmentalise our Christian lives, according to Pastor Jeff Vines, we instantly assume that everything we don’t devote to God is neutral. God will still love us, but any area that we withhold from Him and think we can handle on our own is a false assumption. C.S. Lewis said, ‘There is no neutral ground in the universe.’ Every square inch, every split second is claimed...
God is always wanting to use us
Recently, I was clicking through folders and folders of early photos of our kids. From baby age to the present, I just got lost in it for hours. How good it was to recount the memories, the places we had visited and I just couldn’t hold back giving God the glory for the good things He had done in our family. Towards the end, a certain photo stopped me in my tracks. You see, over 2yrs ago, our eldest daughter moved to Perth to follow God’s plan for her life. While Cindy and I daily still miss...
Bringing Clarity in Confusing Times
Dr Kameel Majdali is an ordained minister of the Australian Christian Churches. He preaches all over the world with an emphasis on the Word of God and the power of the Holy Spirit. He also leads the organisation Teach All Nations, a ministry that is dedicated to sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with as many people as possible. Kameel recently joined the 20Twenty program on Vision Christian Media to share a preview of what to expect in his upcoming Australian tour. His desire is to bring...
God is Always at Work – We’re not Always Seeing It
Did you know that God is not waiting for us to pray before He starts to work? It’s not like He’s saying, “Hey church, if you don’t pray, I can’t do anything.” The fact is that God is always “up to something”. He’s purposely been out-working His redemptive plan, a plan that’s been underway since day one, way back in the garden. In fact, before the garden. He’s busy wooing people back to Him. He’s already working on your neighbour, or friend, or lost family member. He’s actively in the...
How To Read and Study the Bible
Can you imagine being surrounded by the freshest produce, in the best kitchen with the best utensils, but not knowing how to prepare a meal? For many Christians, that’s exactly what reading the Bible feels like. Simply put, we just don’t know how to utilise it effectively. Ben Windle says you can attend church for many years, listen to a lot of teaching and still not learn how to read the Bible for yourself. Yet there is no better way to fuel our growth than personally engaging with the Bible....
God is Always Speaking
“Hello God, are you there? Why don’t you answer me?” I’m sure that has come out of our mouths at least once in our lifetime. Sometimes the idea is that God has turned off or gone quiet. It’s not like He’s keeping silent to teach us a lesson in faith. The reality is, “God is always speaking; we’re not always listening.” Ezekiel 12:25 For I the Lord will speak, and whatever word I speak will be performed. Genesis 35:13 Then God went up from him in the place where He had spoken with him. Psalm...
Be of Good Courage
Seeing in the midst of life's challenges From one day to the next, major events and occurrences change the way we see and live our lives. Daily we hear of: • Another major disaster; • Another hourly murder, rape or life ending behaviour; • Another greedy and injustice business deal; • An unsteady fragile stock market; • Another unexpected price rise; It seems harder to find the “Feel Good” stories in the midst of so much destruction, despair and hopelessness. Jesus said in the gospel of John...
When You Die! (2)
‘When we die and leave this earthly body, we will have a house in Heaven.’ 2 Corinthians 5:1 NLT
When you die, you simply leave one form of life and enter another. Consider the first law of thermodynamics: neither energy (as in your soul and spirit) nor matter (as in your body) can be destroyed. They can be transformed into other forms, but they can’t be annihilated.
Burris Jenkins said it this way: ‘No single atom in creation can go out of existence, according to the scientists; it only changes in form. We cannot burn up anything; we simply change it from a solid to a gaseous state. Neither is any energy or force ever destroyed; it is only changed from one form to another.’ If a person actually ceased to exist, they would be the one thing in the world that does.
So when you die, what happens? The Bible says: ‘We know that when this tent we live in—our body here on earth—is torn down, God will have a house in Heaven for us to live in… which will last forever. And now we sigh, so great is our desire that our home which comes from Heaven should be put on over us; by being clothed with it… it is not that we want to get rid of our earthly body, but that we want to have the heavenly one put on over us, so that what is mortal will be transformed by life. God… gave us His Spirit as the guarantee of all that He has in store for us.’ (2 Corinthians 5:1–5 GNT)
Think of it like this: your last day on earth will be your best day ever! How awesome is that?
SoulFood: [bible passage=”Lev 23:15–22, Acts 2:1–18″ version=”esv” heading=”H3″]
The Word for Today is authored by Bob and Debby Gass and published under licence from UCB International Copyright ©